"It's Demiurge. As for what he intends to do with the humans of the outside world… are you aware of it?"
The moment my words dropped into the air of the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary, the high-pitched clack of the shishi-odoshi felt just a little bit louder and colder than usual.
Aureole Omega's hand twitched and stopped on the rim of her teacup.
A slight - truly microscopic - tension ran through the elegant space where fully bloomed cherry blossoms danced and scattered.
"...The Guardian of the 7th Floor, Demiurge. One of Nazarick's greatest minds, and the linchpin of our defense."
Aureole lowered her beautiful obsidian eyes, staring intently at the pale green tea stalk swaying in her teacup.
"How he will handle humans... Considering his nature as a demon, it is not difficult to imagine. Torture, experimentation, or the breaking of minds. If he judges it to be for the benefit of our Supreme Master, he will execute such things without a shred of hesitation."
"Exactly."
Remaining suspended in mid-air, I lightly tapped the round table with the tip of a tentacle, or more accurately, I mimed tapping it.
"When he brought the remains of this sample into my vault earlier, he spoke of it with extreme glee. A plan to construct a farm by capturing the two-legged sheep of the outside world, flaying their skin, healing them with recovery magic, and flaying them again to infinitely produce low-tier magic scrolls."
—Silence.
A breeze blew through, and several cherry blossom petals fluttered down onto the round table.
Aureole's expression didn't crumble in the slightest.
As an NPC, she was perfectly programmed to follow the absolute hierarchy and policies of Nazarick set by the Supreme Beings.
If Demiurge's plan benefited Nazarick, it was impossible for her to voice words denying it.
However, the advanced observation capabilities of my [Omniscient Flesh] accurately picked up the noise hidden behind her flawless surface performance.
The white fingertips gripping the teacup had lost their blood flow by just a fraction.
Her blink rate was delayed by a few tenths of a second compared to normal.
And above all, the wavelength of the magic power emitting from her grew faintly muddy, indicating extreme discomfort.
She is the only human in Nazarick.
Her loyalty to the Supreme Beings and her familial love for the other NPCs are genuine.
However, toward the demonic concept of her own species being forced to taste an eternal hell simply as materials for parchment, the identity as a human resting at the very bottom of her soul was exhibiting a quiet, yet undeniable, rejection.
"...Just as expected of Demiurge. A thoroughly demonic plan that places Nazarick's material supply above all else."
After a few seconds, Aureole slowly raised her face and spoke in an extremely flat voice.
"If it is for Lord Ainz's sake, I have nothing to say on the matter. He has his own role as the Head of Defense, after all."
"Do you truly believe that? Aureole Omega."
I turned my countless pupils straight toward her and dropped my voice one octave lower, sharpening it to an edge.
"I am not voicing trivial sentiments such as his methods being 'cruel' or 'unethical.' As the Record Administrator governing Nazarick's omniscience, I judge his plan to be extremely 'inefficient,' a foolish policy that forces an immense risk upon our Supreme Master."
A faint color of surprise surfaced in Aureole's eyes.
She had likely been on guard, expecting me to bring up emotional arguments like protecting humans.
But what I presented was strictly the thoroughly justified cause of 'Nazarick's Benefit.'
"Inefficient... a risk, you say?"
"Yeah. Think about it."
I deployed new runes in mid-air, visually constructing a logic tree.
"First, from the perspective of intelligence gathering. Information obtained through agonizing torture and flaying contains an extreme amount of noise. Humans will spit out non-existent, fabricated information just to escape excruciating pain. To accumulate such impure data into a database is an insult to my Vault of Wisdom."
Aureole followed the text I was deploying with a serious expression.
"Second, the existence of the Martial Arts from earlier."
I advanced the topic to the core issue.
"There are unknown enhancement systems in the outside world that we do not know about. Furthermore, there is the possibility that unknown powerhouses possessing World Items are lurking out there. The very reason Lord Ainz is concealing his identity as an adventurer to cautiously investigate the outside is precisely because of that."
"...Yes. Lord Ainz is an extremely cautious person who taps on a stone bridge before crossing it. He is on guard against unknown threats more than anything else."
"Exactly. Yet, what happens if we loudly abduct humans and scatter needless hostility toward the surrounding nations like Demiurge wants? It will only give those with unknown powers an excuse to band together and form a 'counter-organization' against us. To ravage the board and unite our enemies before we have even finished completely analyzing their intelligence, I can only call it a third-rate strategy."
I tapped the desk with a tentacle, thrusting the conclusion before her.
"Demiurge's loyalty is unquestionable. But his 'instincts as a demon' will sometimes cause a fatal mismatch with Lord Ainz's cautious policies. If we leave the handling of the outside world entirely to him, Nazarick will eventually be dragged into a needless, all-out war that could have been avoided."
When my words ended, deep silence fell over the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary once more.
Aureole quietly placed the teacup in her hands onto the round table and let out a deep breath.
The perfect tension of an NPC she had worn up until moments ago seemed to shed from her shoulders just a little bit.
"...Lord Tawil Balah. That massive spring of knowledge you possess is no mere dictionary, is it?"
A faint, yet far more natural smile than before graced Aureole's beautiful lips.
"You are exactly right. Demiurge's methods are far too bloody, and far too forceful. In order to solidify the 'peace and absolute rule' that Lord Ainz desires, a more refined, quiet, and efficient approach is absolutely indispensable."
She completely agreed with my logic.
As long as we had this official stance, we NPCs could throw everything we had into obstructing Demiurge's rampage from within the system, without rebelling against the settings of our Creators.
"Therefore, I have a proposal for you, Leader of the Pleiades."
I tilted my body of black fog slightly forward and played my decisive card.
"We of the 8th Floor' are Nazarick's final defensive line and its greatest trump card. In that case, we should be the ultimate shield in the information war as well. Before Demiurge can pitch his forceful plans of blood and terror to Lord Ainz, we will preempt him and present Lord Ainz with a safer, far more efficient optimal solution."
"...Are you suggesting we outmaneuver Demiurge?"
"I prefer to call it supporting him."
I narrowed my hundreds of eyes and chuckled.
"Your younger sisters, the combat maids of the Pleiades, are in positions closest to the outside world through their escort and infiltration missions for Lord Ainz. I want you to funnel the raw information they see and hear directly into my vault, without passing it through Demiurge's filter. My [Omniscient Flesh] will analyze it in fractions of a second and submit it to Lord Ainz as a flawless strategic report."
A sharp light dwelled in Aureole's eyes.
It was the gleam of a quiet fighting spirit, the sole human in Nazarick acting to prevent her own species from being cast into a meaningless hell.
"Before the demon of the 7th Floor can set a fire, we of the 8th Floor will have the board perfectly arranged... It is an extremely logical and beautiful Defense Policy."
Aureole gently picked up the Kagura bells resting on her lap and rang them, letting out a cool, clear ring.
It was her own sound of an oath toward my proposal - our covert alliance.
"Understood, Lord Tawil Balah. The information regarding the fragile humans of the outside that the Pleiades obtain shall be prioritized and shared with your database. I shall skillfully issue instructions on my end to my eldest sister Yuri and to Narberal, who is currently infiltrating."
"You have my thanks. I have high expectations for how you handle the reins of your sisters."
I extended an ink tentacle and smoothly pulled the teacup that was floating above the round table toward me.
"I will repay you for this Gyokuro tea with the ultimate information in due time."
"Hehe. I will be looking forward to it, Lord Keeper of Knowledge. Please, use that omniscient brain of yours to guide our Supreme Master to the most efficient victory."
Aureole and I exchanged glances, perfectly understanding each other's true intentions.
She realized that I was trying to avoid needless slaughter."
I, too, knew that she was riding along with it while harboring self-hatred and pity toward her fellow humans.
However, we would never put those true feelings into words.
We chose to stand on the board together strictly as excellent NPCs who pledge absolute loyalty to Lord Ainz and pursue the benefit of Nazarick.
I turned my back on the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary and glided my black fog back toward the internal teleportation circle.
"Lord Tawil Balah."
Aureole's quiet voice echoed from behind.
"...Please come by for tea again anytime. The 8th Floor is far too large, and I have been rather bored."
"Yeah. Next time, I'll extract the finest black tea leaves and bring them. Brewed with the perfect Elven method, of course."
I raised a tentacle in response without looking back and dove into the light of the Gate.
My vision inverted, and I returned to the Vault of Wisdom, once again filled with the dusty scent of parchment.
Ra and Apep welcomed me from their respective designated positions.
"You've returned, Tawil. It seems you had quite a long talk."
"Slither, the smell of cherry blossoms rubbed off on you. It's creepy."
"It was just a business communication. But with this, we've secured 'eyes' and 'ears' to gather information on the outside."
I settled into my designated position in the center of the space and redeployed the executive summary addressed to Lord Ainz, which I had kept on standby, back into the air.
The first piece has been placed on the board.
The Pleiades with the highest mobility outside of Nazarick. Establishing a pipeline with Aureole Omega, who held their reins, was an immeasurable advantage.
Before Demiurge could overthink Ainz's words and assemble a cruel plan, I would slam down a perfect, peaceful alternative that brings profit to Nazarick with overwhelming processing speed.
This was a life-or-death corporate political battle waged by a former salaryman to save the soul of Ainz (Satoru Suzuki) from the rampage of a demon.
"Now then, shall we get going?"
Making my hundreds of pupils shine bluish-purple, I stored the completed report deep within my black fog.
"To report the fragile logic of this world to Lord Ainz."
I opened a teleportation gate leading directly from the 8th Floor to the Throne Room where the Supreme Master sat.
The monster governing the omniscience of Nazarick had finally put its brain into full gear, powerfully taking the first step to rewrite the bloodstained scenarios of the future.